Fats Waller Emerges as Harlem's Greatest Stride Pianist and Organist

By 1922, Thomas 'Fats' Waller—a student of James P. Johnson—had established himself as Harlem's most gifted stride pianist and the first to master jazz organ for popular music. Waller began recording piano rolls and early discs while tutoring Duke Ellington at the Kentucky Club during the mid-1920s. His compositions included 'Ain't Misbehavin'' and 'Honeysuckle Rose,' written in the latter part of the decade, and his exuberant showmanship influenced virtually every jazz pianist who followed.